Simulation and experimental study on frictional wear of plough blades in soil cultivation process based on the Archard model

Abstract

Plough blades are widely used for land preparation tasks such as rotary tillage and trenching in small farmlands. This paper, using the finite element method, establishes a dynamic simulation model for plough blade cutting through soil. Utilising simulation and experimental data, the study inversely determined a constant value of K = 1.71 × 10⁻⁵ for the wear formula and developed an Archard wear mathematical model applicable to predicting plough blade wear during soil cutting. Subsequently, a Python script was developed for extracting data during the plough blade cutting process. The UMESHMOTION subroutine, combined with the ALE grid remeshing method, was then employed to simulate the wear morphology of the plough blade tip. A comprehensive numerical analysis of wear is conducted over time intervals of 2 h, 3.5 h, 5 h, and 6 h. The results indicated that the maximum wear occurred at the junction between the rear blade surface and the plough blade tip, with corresponding maximum wear amounts of 1.887 mm, 2.750 mm, 3.766 mm, and 4.359 mm. Comparison with actual wear conditions during the operation of a micro-tiller suggests that, within the same wear stage of the blade, the proposed wear numerical analysis method effectively simulated the wear amount during plough blade soil cutting. Furthermore, a comparison of wear amounts under different operational parameters showed that an increase in forward speed led to wear amount increments of 26.62 % and 35.23 %, while an increase in rotational speed resulted in wear amount increments of 17.77 % and 43.88 %. Both factors significantly impact plough blade wear.